The World Health Organization says that investigation into the origins of the SARS-Cov-2 virus that caused the Covid-19 pandemic is still ongoing, and despite three years of investigation, the exact cause has yet to be found.
“As things stand, all hypotheses, including zoonotic diseases and lab leaks, must remain on the table,” Director Adhanom Gebrees said at a press conference Friday.
His comments came after a report published Friday from the Scientific Advisory Group (SAGO), which stated that the “available evidence” supported the hypothesis that the coronavirus jumped from animals to humans through a process called “or animals through intermediate hosts.”
Sago is a panel of 27 independent international interdisciplinary experts formed by the World Health Organization to advise on technical and scientific considerations regarding the emergence and reappearance of pathogens such as Covid-19.
“The most available and accessible public scientific evidence supports animal sphere transmission from animals from bats and human intermediate hosts, but sagos are currently unable to accurately terminate when SARS-COV-2 first enters human populations,” the report reads.
The closest known “precursor strains” were identified in bats in China and the Lao People's Democratic Republic, but they say the strain is too far from the virus and is a direct source of the pandemic.
The report notes that part of the difficulty in determining the cause is because China does not share certain information, and that it has also made it difficult to examine the second hypothesis that suggests an accidental lab leak.
More Video Details
The WHO shared hundreds of genetic sequences from Covid-19 individuals early in the pandemic, sharing more detailed information about animals sold in Wuhan's market, as well as information on work and biosafety conditions performed at Wuhan's laboratory.
Get weekly health news
Receive the latest medical news and health information provided every Sunday.
“To date, China has not shared this information with Sago or anyone,” the news release said.
Group chair Marietjie Venter said during a press conference Friday that without the required data they could not assess whether the virus was the result of a lab accident.
“Therefore, we could not investigate or exclude this hypothesis,” Venter said. “It was deemed very speculative based on political opinions and not supported by science.”
That hypothesis is one that has repeatedly been suggested as a cause by US President Donald Trump, but the US Intelligence report analysis found insufficient evidence to prove the theory.
The report also provided two other hypotheses. The first is the introduction of the virus into the animal market via the “cold chain process” and the infection of humans through contact with products sold in the market.
Trend now
Anna Wintour resigns as Vogue Editor-in-Chief in 37 years
Masai Ujiri as Vice-Chairman, President of the Toronto Raptors
Venter said no additional evidence is available to support the hypothesis, and that more data is needed to prove it.
The final hypothesis involving intentional manipulation of viruses in the laboratory is not supported if biosafety violations continue. Venter notes that Sago looked at the publications and reports associated with the genomic structure of the virus, but found no evidence to support it.
If more information becomes available, all four hypotheses will be reevaluated, but Venter considers the first one related to zoonotic wavenumber to be a supported hypothesis.
“Until more scientific data is available, the origin of the way SARS-Cov-2 entered human populations will not be critical,” she said.
During the briefing, Ghebreyesus recognized the task of investigating the cause was difficult, and told reporters that Sago members had not agreed to everything and was “expected.”
He said earlier this week that one member of the team had resigned and three others requested that names be removed from the report.
Ghebreyesus, as well as other governments who expressed concern that China has not provided further information and have said it has conducted a Covid-19 investigation to provide this data.
Last year, The Associated Press discovered that the Chinese government freezes meaningful national and international efforts to track the origins of the virus in the first weeks of the 2020 outbreak, potentially missing an early opportunity for WHO to investigate how the pandemic began.
Chinese officials have repeatedly dismissed the idea that the pandemic may have begun in the lab, saying the search should take place in other countries.
Last September, researchers focused on a short list of animals that may have spread Covid-19 to humans, including raccoon dogs, civil cats and bamboo mice.
– Use files from Associated Press
&Copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.